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Ref .0 'a thought'
It is quite interesting to note the mentality of most 'humans', it like
dealing with a herd mentality. Throughout history we have seen
incidents of 'over reaction', and if something gets in our way,
disguised as progress, eliminate it. It is not my intent to dwell or
start a feud but to just state some some documented incidents. The
witch hunts of Salem, elimination of the Native American, the
destruction of the American Bison, the impending conficastion of
firearms. History has a way of repeating itself and its quite sad that
humans don't learn from it but make the same mistakes again and again.
LS
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| Way back in '45 when I was a teenager, my dad offered my labor
services to my uncle Clarance. It was hay making time in central
Pennsylvania and the sun was high. Of course, I complied with
my dad's wishes and worked my ass off all morning pitching hay onto
the horse drawn ladder wagons. The high point of the day was at
noon when we could stop working and partake to the delicious spread
of food prepared by my aunt Sarah. So about noon, we all walked
from the barn to the front yard gate of the house.
Well, about 5 feet off the walk, there was a big hawk (must have
been a goshawk) clutching one of aunt Sarah's Rhode Island Red
Chickens.
Egad, I can still see it today. He seems so regal, and looked right
at us as if to say, "this is my chicken dudes and I'm not about to
give it up, even though it is too heavy for me to carry"
Right away, my uncle Clarence ran around the house to the back
door, got his shotgun and appeared on the front porch. All the mean-
while, the hawk stood his ground to his detriment.
Can't remember if we had chicken for supper or not.
At that time, life was hard enough for many farmers and they didn't
want any "verdammt" (Penna Dutch) hawk eating up their meager profits.
Ed
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| >> <<< Note 1006.2 by MILPND::HOOVER >>>
>> -< Verdammt Hawks >-
This reminds me of stories my Dad tells about his growing up. He,
and my mom, both grew up on farms in rural West Texas during the
depression years. Wildlife conservation took a back seat to survival.
According to my Dad, whenever they saw a hawk, owl, fox, raccoon, skunk,
opossum, ringtail cat, civet cat, snake (of any kind), armadillo, or
whatever other type varmit, they killed it. All of those were considered
predators which would prey on chickens (including the eggs) and small
livestock. It just wasn't a time to be charitable with the wildlife.
I think that we should all be thankful that we live in times where
practices such as these are not the norm. I know my Dad is.
Jerry
P.S. Interestingly enough, when my Dad was young, there just weren't
any deer in that part of the country. Now, that very same region
supports a very healty deer population. I've also read accounts that
back in the early 1900s ranchers considered deer to be pests, and would
try to kill them off.
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| Pests depend on who is talking. I know personally of a rabid anti
hunter, who now begs my dad to hunt deer and turkeys. They live here in
central Kansas, where up until just a few years ago, there were very
few of either. This particular farmer had 60 acres of milo that was
harvested by the turkeys and deer. He got absolutely nothing. We now
enjoy some very good hunting. Bad for the farmer -- Good for the
hunter.
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